Fear's First Day
by ShiningPaths
Summary: Fear's first day on the job as an emotion of Riley's, told from his perspective. New friends will be made, and he'll learn all about what it means to be an emotion of Riley Anderson's. One shot.


From the second Fear manifested, he sprinted over to the console and pushed the levers forward. _"Aaah!_ Abort! Abort! _Abort!_" He was hyperventilating and already sweating in his clothes, but there was no time to calm down. He had to get the baby out of this deadly, catastrophic situation!

Baby Riley responded to his control, letting out sharp wails. The wails sent chills through Fear's spine, but he ignored them. Right now his only concern was making sure that this baby was no longer being held by this evildoer!

Through the consciousness screen, Fear could see a woman walking over and taking the baby in her hands. He intuitively knew who this woman was and knew she wasn't going to hurt the baby. Sighing, he let go of the levers. "Whew! That was a close one."

"Um, hello?"

"Aaah!" Fear cried, nearly slipping onto the floor. He turned around to see a tall glowing yellow figure and her chubby blue companion. The tall yellow figure wore a dress and had sparkly short blue hair while the blue figure wore a turtleneck sweater and glasses. Refocusing himself, he waved at them. "Oh, uh, h-hello! I'm Fear! Sorry if I scared you. I just had to act fast, you know? That woman looked like she was going to kill us!"

"No worries!" The tall yellow figure grabbed his hand and violently shook it. "Anyway, I'm Joy and that's Sadness!" Sadness waved timidly at him. "We're Riley's emotions. I guess you're an emotion too, huh?"

Fear nodded. "Uh-huh, I'm the emotion of fear, and I'm here to keep this child safe." Even though he was born only a minute or so ago, he naturally knew that he was an emotion, and he knew why he was here. He was the emotion of a baby girl (who was apparently named Riley), and he was there to assess and alert her to any dangerous situations she would come across. Still, even though he knew why he was there, he couldn't say the same for Joy and Sadness. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what are you two here for?"

Joy giggled. "Well, I make Riley happy, of course! Like when Mom or Dad rock her to sleep, or sing her songs." She did a gleeful little dance, twirling around in a circle. "Those times are the best, let me tell you."

Fear gave her a warm smile. He could tell he liked her already, and that once he was able to get Riley out of danger, Joy would be there to make her happy right after.

"Now Sadness," Joy went over to Sadness and put her hand on Sadness's shoulder, "I don't really know what to say about her. I don't know what she does, to be honest."

Sadness's lips quivered. Fear, sensing what was coming, took a few steps back.

Joy rolled her eyes, but her grin didn't waver. She nudged Sadness. "Hey, hey, hey, don't cry! We've got a new friend here that will keep Riley safe and nothing bad is going on with her, right?" Fear got the impression that Joy wasn't too fond of Sadness, but he didn't want to assume.

Sadness stopped her whimpering. Her lips were back to normal. "I guess you're right, Joy." A tiny smile formed on her lips as she looked at Fear. " I'm glad that you're here, Fear. I think you'll be really great for Riley."

Joy patted Sadness on the head. "Atta girl." She then threw an arm over Fear and the two walked over to the spiral staircase. "So how about I show you around then?"

After Joy showed Fear around, Fear was at a loss of what to do next. Riley was sleeping in her crib and no potential danger could be found. The next best thing for him to do was to write a list, or several lists, of all the potential dangers that could befall them. An hour or so passed, and he was finished with the lists.

Joy hopped over to where Fear was. "Hey, Fear! What are you writing?"

Fear got up and showed her his lists. "Just writing down all the potential disasters." He looked at the first list again. "Right now, the worst scenario is falling out of the crib."

"That would be so sad," Sadness moaned. "We'd all be dead, that's for sure."

Joy shook her head. "Well, I don't see how that could ever happen! Our crib has bars! It's impossible to fall out of it."

"Nothing's impossible, Joy, trust me," Fear said. "When it comes to Riley's safety, I have to look at all the possibilities, and that includes possibilities that seem impossible."

"I don't get what you mean, but A-okay if it makes you feel better!"

A sudden, loud noise caused Fear to jump out of his skin. "Aaah! What was that?" He rushed over and took control of the console, causing Riley to wake up and start to cry. Fear's hands were all over the place as he pushed buttons and jolted levers. His breathing got rapid again.

On the screen, Fear could see a man enter the bedroom. The man looked familiar, and Fear knew he was safe.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay, sweetie," the man said softly. He picked Riley up and sat down in the rocking chair, rocking her back to sleep.

"And everything's fine now!" Joy nudged Fear aside and took over the console. "We're all safe and sound in Dad's arms!" Joy's grin was apparently contagious because Fear felt a grin make its way to his face too. A sense of calmness washed over him as his previously rapid breathing now slowed down to a slow and steady pace.

"So I guess you make Riley cry too," Sadness said to Fear. "That's something we have in common." Fear didn't say anything in return. He just let out a little hum.

By the end of the day, Fear was ready to lay down and relax. He hadn't been needed at the console in a while, not since the noise incident.

"And we're out!" Joy as the consciousness screen shut off. She hit a button with her foot, sending all of these spheres away through a tube. Fear noticed that nearly all of them were golden yellow, but there were a few that had his color. Some even had Sadness's color.

"Hey, Joy, what are those?" Fear asked, pointing to the spheres as they were sucked up by a tube.

"Ah, these?" Joy picked up a sphere just before it got sucked up. "They're Riley's memories! She makes new ones every day and at the end of the day they get sent to Long Term Memory!" She handed Fear the memory. He stood back, hesitant to hold it. Joy chuckled. "Don't worry! They're not dangerous."

Fear grasped the sphere, careful not to drop it.

Joy suddenly swiped the memory. Fear flinched and gasped, nearly dropping it, but he managed to keep it in his grip. The memory came alive, showing Riley smile and coo as Dad rocked her in the rocking chair. Fear replayed the memory again, he just couldn't help it. As he kept replaying the memory, a soft sensation filled him. Riley was certainly an adorable, precious kid, and Fear couldn't help but feel a sense of fondness for her.

"Oh, Riley, I'll always be here to protect you." Fear held the sphere to his chest, embracing it in a hug. "I _promise_."


End file.
